Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-29

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

Your friend has been offered a place on a course at the university where you studied. He/She would like your advice about finding a place to live.

Write an email to your friend. In your email

• describe where you lived when you were a student at the university
• recommend the best way for him/her to look for accommodation
• warn him/her of mistakes students make when choosing accommodation

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your email as follows:

Dear ..........,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Sam,

I hope you and your family are doing well! I'm writting to give my advise about finding good accommodation near university.

When I was student I was living as paying guest (PG) with a family nearby university campus. The host family was very understanding and polite. I was paying them $600 for month which covers rent, utilities and food. The room they aloted me, was with private bathroom in the basement.

Nowadays, there are various options where you can find good place to live. Firstly, you need to check with university if they can give you room in hostel. Another option is check on Facebook market places. Most of people post advertisement on Facebook of their rental properties. Lastly, you can contact local housing agencies.

Please keep few things in mind while chosing the place for living. Make sure house is not very far from he college and from the grocery store. Futhermore, sign written lease before pating rent which will help you to get tenant insurance policy.

All the best for the future! Stay in touch.

Warm regards,

Jass

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required by the prompt. You described your past living situation clearly as a paying guest in the basement with a family, recommended options such as university hostels, Facebook Marketplace, and local housing agencies, and provided useful warnings regarding distance and signing a written lease. The tone is appropriate for an informal email to a friend. All parts of the task are well-addressed with clear, relevant ideas that directly answer the prompt requirements. Therefore, this fulfills the criteria for a strong performance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The email has a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph dedicated to a distinct topic, such as past experience, accommodation options, and warnings/advice. Cohesive devices are generally used well, such as 'Firstly', 'Another option', and 'Lastly' to structure the recommendations. However, referencing and transitions could be slightly smoother in places, but the logical flow is easy to follow throughout, making the letter coherent and well-structured.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate and generally appropriate for a general training email, featuring terms like 'paying guest', 'utilities', 'rental properties', and 'tenant insurance policy'. There are some minor spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'writting' instead of writing, 'advise' instead of advice, 'aloted' instead of allotted, and 'pating' instead of paying. Despite these occasional inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your message clearly and demonstrates an attempt to use less common items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The host family was very understanding and polite' and 'sign written lease before pating rent which will help you to get tenant insurance policy.' There are some noticeable grammatical errors and missing articles, for instance, 'When I was student' instead of 'When I was a student', 'for month' instead of 'for a month', and 'nearby university campus' instead of 'near the university campus'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but minor errors persist. However, these errors rarely impede overall communication.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.